


The Girl who Lived and the Yule Ball

by DivineRedhead



Series: The Girl Who Lived [9]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Cedric is the upperclassman you don't have a chance with, Gen, Harri has a crush, Harri is a girl, Ron needs a date, With two girls as best friends you think it would be easier, Yule Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 20:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/739579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineRedhead/pseuds/DivineRedhead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Tri-Wizard Tournament is in session, and the Yule Ball is just around the corner.  You'd think with two extra schools in house, finding a date would be easy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Smoothe Operator...?

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling.
> 
> More of the Girl who Lived series can be found on my deviantart page, under the name Divine-Nataku.

With Winter came preparations for the school's annual Yule Ball. With the addition of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, it seemed as though the staff of Hogwarts School were pulling out all the stops to get things ready. Professor McGonagall had even gone so far as to round up all the Gryffindors to be certain that they could all perform a passing rendition of the Waltz.

Being forced to dance in the Transfiguration classroom with Patricia Stimpson (a rather hefty girl who unfortunately seemed to be in the possession of two left hooves) was one thing – were they really supposed to do this in front of everyone in the Great Hall… for fun? 

"Madness," Ron grumbled in the free period after, his quill scratching furiously across the piece of parchment unfurled before him. His toes still smarted from all the times his partner had stepped on them. _Secret swans, my arse... _The fact that he could hear his brothers snickering at him whilst he suffered had done nothing to improve his mood. "Utter madness!"__

__"Not so, little brother, not so at all!" said George, plopping down beside him with a grin._ _

__Fred mirrored his action on the other side. "You want to be able to impress your date with your smoothe moves, don't you?"_ _

__The youngest Weasley boy paused, blinking in confusion. "What?"_ _

__"Your date," Fred reiterated. "You've found one, haven't you?"_ _

__"What with your veritable lot to choose from?"_ _

__They were supposed to bring dates to this debacle?! He flushed in embarrassment, glancing away from their teasing grins with a sour expression. "And I suppose you two have dates already?"_ _

__Their grins widened in unison. "Of course."_ _

__Ron snorted._ _

__"Never fear, little brother," said George._ _

__"Yeah, we'll help you find a date." Fred finished._ _

__"I don't need any help!" the younger Weasley exclaimed hotly. "I'm not helpless."_ _

__"Well, you'd best hurry, Ickle Ronnikins," George grinned._ _

__"If you wait too long," Fred added. "All the good ones'll be taken!"_ _

__"Taken… right…" Ignoring the smug grins on his brothers' faces, Ron let his eyes roam around the room. With the addition of all the young witches from Beauxbatons, there certainly was a greater number of girls in the school. But who to choose?_ _

__His brain was busy going through the list of possibilities when a familiar bushy-haired witch entered the Great Hall, seating herself down across from them._ _

__"Hello, boys," she said genially as she began pulling books out of her satchel._ _

__"Hermione," the twins greeted, matching grins upon their faces._ _

__"Hullo," Ron muttered dully, his thoughts still turned inward._ _

__Hermione gave him a curious glance before diving into her own work. The twins looked on, incredulous. A few minutes passed in silence – save for the scratching of Hermione's quill against her parchment – before Ron's head shot up, an exultant grin upon his face._ _

__"I've got it!" he exclaimed. The twins rolled their eyes._ _

__The young witch kept her attention on her work. "That's nice, Ron," she said absently. "You've got what?"_ _

__He grinned, leaning forward with his chin resting in his palm, his elbow upon the table. "Hermione," he began. "You're a girl, right?"_ _

__Her quill stilling, her eyes rose to meet his with a touch of incredulity. "Last time I checked, yes," she answered wryly. "Why do you ask…?"_ _

__He glanced away, scratching his nose absently. "Well, y'know that ball's coming up and I figured it'd be a shame if you couldn't find somebody to go with… I would feel bad if you were left by yourself, so why not?"_ _

__She stared at him, a frown forming on her face. "Why not what?"_ _

__Ron blinked before letting out a short laugh. "Why not let me take you?" He chuckled again, shaking his head in sympathy. "It's not as though anyone else is gonna ask you, right?"_ _

__Hermione stared at him, her face flushed bright red. "So you think… You would dare…" Her body shook with barely repressed anger. She shot to her feet, slamming her book shut. Several students glanced her way, but she paid them no heed. "I'll have you know that I've already got a date," she hissed. "Someone had the guts and the decency to ask me properly – and not as a last resort!" Then in a flurry of parchment, the bushy haired witch gathered her belongings and stormed out of the hall._ _

__"Wow," said Fred at a few stunned minutes of silence._ _

__"You certainly botched that up," said George._ _

__"He's lucky she didn't hex him."_ _

__"Too true, brother mine, too true."_ _

__Ron watched her go, a slightly troubled expression on his face. "Do you suppose she was tellin' the truth about having a date?" he murmured. "Or just making it up to save face?"_ _

__The twins shared a look._ _

__"Guess you'll find out soon enough, won'cha?"_ _

__Twin hands clapped Ron roughly on the back as they rose up. "Good luck with the hunt, little bro!"_ _

__"You're gonna need it!"_ _

__The younger boy grunted in annoyance as they left, turning his attention back to his essay. Who needed them anyway? 'Bloody thickheads…'_ _


	2. A Willing Escort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harri hasn't had much luck getting a date either... until one happens to land right in her lap. Literally.

So they said 'fair heart never won fair maiden'; Harri never thought in a million years she'd be applying that to her own pathetic attempts at securing a date for a school dance, but there it was. The odds of Cedric agreeing to go to the Yule Ball with her had been infentismal at most. After all, he was several years older, smarter, and way more popular; certainly not a fake Tri-Wizard Champion like her.

Still, he'd always been nice and kind and had already done so much for her - what did she have to lose? A lot apparently, especially considering the fact that he was already taking Ravenclaw's Seeker, Cho Chang.

Ouch.

Although her recent failure still weighed heavy upon her mind, Harri was resolved to keep her head high and put it behind her. With the hopes that working on the essay due to Professor Binns on Friday would take her mind off of things, the brunette slowly made her way towards the Great Hall. As she walked down the corridor, she spotted a familiar bushy haired witch storming towards her with steam practically hissing out of her ears.

' _Wow _' she murmured. ' _She looks pretty mad _.'____

____Of course, that was probably putting it lightly. Hermione's brown eyes were flashing and her face was flushed in anger. She was even muttering under breath; words like 'insufferable' and 'prat' were being uttered over and over again._ _ _ _

____Harri let out a loud sigh. "What's he done now?" she asked loudly._ _ _ _

____The other girl started in surprise, finally taking notice of her. "Oh, Harri!" She let out an exasperated sound, grabbing the dark haired girl by the arm and leading her back the way she had come. "You wouldn't _believe _what he's done!"___ _ _ _

______\--_ _ _ _ _ _

______"...and he had the _nerve _to be so casual about it! Like he was doing me a favor!"___ _ _ _ _ _

________Sitting in a small window nook off one of the major corridors, Harri listened to Hermione's ranting recount, grimacing at Ron's poor tact. Had he really expected her to say yes when asked in such horrible a way? Not even Harri, who knew next to nothing about asking someone out (if her recent attempt was anything to go by), would agree to a date with the redhead if asked in such a manner. And he was her best friend!_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hermione let out another huff of frustration, pushing an errant strand of hair out of her face. "And to think that I'd actually thought of asking him!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The green eyed witch blinked in confusion. "Why didn't you?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________A hint of pink touched her cheeks briefly. "Someone else asked me first," she answered primly. "Besides, I thought for certain you would want to ask him."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Me?" Harri laughed. "I thought you were going to!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The two girls stared at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles that seemed to echo down the empty corridor. Hermione came to her senses first, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "Well... are you going to ask Ron?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Harri paused thoughtfully, trying to imagine what it would be like. The thought had crossed her mind when Professor McGonagall had broached the subject of a ball; after all, Ron was her friend, surely it wouldn't be so bad. However, the more she thought about it... Being forced into the limelight by the tournament was bad enough, but having Ron there with her after all the fuss he had made initially might be too much._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Thinking of all the ways such a decision could blow up in her face, a grimace made its way to her face. "No," she answered finally. "It would be too weird."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The other girl nodded faintly, making a non-committal sound._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Besides," Harri went on. "It'd probably be easier for me to go stag."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hermione winced at the pun. "I don't think that's possible, Harri," she said. "You're one of the Tri-Wizard Champions - all of you are going to be under a lot of scrutiny."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The dark haired witch paled at the thought of all those eyes focused on her, but managed to maintain some semblance of composure on the outside. "It won't be so bad,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Harri," Hermione said firmly. "You are going to need an escort." Catching the flash of unease in her emerald gaze, she smiled reassuringly. "I'm certain there are a number of people you can ask."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I'm the social pariah of the school right now, Hermione," Harri countered dryly. "No one's gonna want to escort the Fake Champion."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The bushy haired witch clicked her teeth disapprovingly. "Don't talk like that," she scolded. "Have you considered asking Cedric? The two of you seem to get along well and I think the show of solidarity might--"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No," the other girl frowned softly, her gaze focused away from her friend. "He's taking someone else..."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hermione's expression softened in sympathy. "Oh, Harri..."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Forcing a grin to her face, Harri casually waved her words away. "It's alright… It was just a thought." Hermione nodded, her expression still contrite. "Don't worry, I'll find somebody."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"You're sure?" Hermione offered gently. "I could help…"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Harri shook her head. "Nah, it'll be fine." She grinned again, walking backwards towards the Great Hall. That essay on the Goblin Rebellion wasn't going to write itself, after all. "Who knows? Maybe I'll be lucky and have a date just fall into my—oof!" Something rammed into her from behind, sending her sprawling to the ground._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Harri!" Hermione exclaimed. "Are you—?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It was an accident!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Shaking the stars from her vision, Harri rolled over to find herself within very close range of a very red-faced, horrorstruck Neville Longbottom. "Neville?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed again. "I was running and I didn't see you there…! I never meant to—!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It's okay, it's okay!" she exclaimed. "Just… could you maybe just get off of me…?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Realizing their position – sprawled out in the middle of hall with Harri pinned beneath him – Neville let out a rather undignified yelp, scrambling quickly to his feet. Once up, he extended his hand to her, pulling her upwards._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Although surprised by the gallant gesture, Harri smiled and offered her thanks, absently brushing the dust from her uniform jacket and skirt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Are you two alright?" Hermione asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Neville nodded, as did Harri. "So, Nev," she asked. "Where's the fire?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The boy tensed in surprise, his eyes darting around worriedly. "Fire?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Muggle expression," Hermione explained. "Why were you in such a hurry?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I just came from the Great Hall... Ron said I had just missed you, so I was hoping to catch up to you before you got too far..." he answered, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "I guess I got a little carried away."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Did you need help with your essay?" Hermione asked. "I could help you back in the common room," Her expression soured as she recalled her recent incident with a certain stubborn Weasley. "I've had my fill of study hall today..."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Actually, I was hoping that you might know where to find..." the bashful boy paused and glanced over at Harri, his face reddening._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Harri gazed at him with a touch of concern. "You alright, Neville?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Yes!" he squeaked, causing the two girls to exchange a look of confusion. Clumsy Neville was familiar. So was Forgetful Neville. Squeaky-Flustered Neville was a new one..._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________While Harri's confusion seemed to increase as their fellow Gyffindor continued to blush and bluster, Hermione was suddenly hit with inspiration._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh, while you're here, Neville," she smiled. "Perhaps you can help us with something. Or rather Harri, more specifically."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Both Harri and Neville blinked. "Er, yes?" he murmured hesitantly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Harri is in need of an escort to the Yule Ball," the bushy haired witch explained. "Would you perhaps be available?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________There was a long stretch of silence. Harri stood gaping at her whilst Neville's face reddened to a color rivaling that of his vest. He sputtered helplessly before nodding._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Isn't that wonderful, Harri?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The dark haired witch seemed to come back to herself, glancing over at Neville hesitantly. "Are you sure, Neville?" she asked. "I'll understand if you don't want--"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No!" he exclaimed loudly, only to flush in embarrassment. "Er, I mean--" He paused, executing a stiff bow. "I'd be honored to escort you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Er..." Harri stared, not quite sure how to process this. "Okay..." She glanced over at Hermione, who merely shrugged. "I'm gonna go do some homework... yeah... homework..." Still feeling a little befuddled, she dusted herself off once again and headed back towards the Great Hall._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hermione and Neville watched her go until she vanished out of sight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well," Hermione then said, nodding in satisfaction. "That takes care of that."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Er, yeah..." Neville murmured. "Th-thanks for your help, Hermione."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The bushy-haired witch smiled widely. "You're welcome, Neville."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. Like Out of a Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harri's felt like she's been living a fairytale ever since a half-giant told her she's a witch. 
> 
> At least now she finally gets to dance with her handsome prince.

Everything had been going fine up until now; she and her escort had come out with the rest of the tournament participants, and she'd somehow managed to get through the opening dance without any incidents. She'd gotten through three dances without tripping on the sheer train of her dress, which had been a pretty big concern! For a first ball, things had seemed to be going pretty well...

Until Draco Malfoy decided to appear. 

He'd dragged her onto the dance floor, whispering all sorts of snide comments and insults in her ear, knowing she couldn't do anything about it with all eyes on them as they were. Her eyes narrowed at the cocky smirk on the blonde's face, wishing she hadn't left her wand back at the punch table with Neville. How dare that Slytherin prat insinuate that she would actually… that he could even… She found herself wondering if it was worth the potential backlash to sock him in the face. Eventually she decided that anything that horrible Skeeter woman might print in the paper paled in comparison to the foulness that just oozed out of Malfoy's mouth. It was one thing to insult her, but another to go after Neville, who been nothing short of wonderful...! Just as she managed to clench her free hand into a fist, a figure came up behind them.

"Pardon me… Draco, is it?" They both turned, spotting Cedric Diggory, who was resplendent in a black dress robe with crisp white button down. He fixed Harri with a genial smile before turning his attention back to the back to blonde standing beside her. "Would you mind terribly if I cut in?"

Something dark and ugly akin to a scowl passed across the young Slytherin's face only to be quickly and artfully hidden a polite mask. "Of course," he murmured, releasing the brunette and stepping back with a flourishing bow. "Anything for the Hogwarts Champion,"

Harri bit her lip to keep from uttering something foul. How could he sit there and smile after all the horrible things he'd just said?! ' _Why that slimy little… _'__

__"Harri?" She blinked, turning her eyes to Cedric. He held his hand out to her in a gallant pose reminiscent of the fairytales she'd read when she was younger. His polite smile widened into a playful grin. "Shall we?"_ _

__She stared at him; he really wanted to dance with her? After a moment of hesitation, she shyly placed her hand in his, allowing him to lead her into the steps of the next dance. Certain her face was on fire, she ducked her head low, murmuring softly, "Thank you…"_ _

__Cedric smiled. "I was worried you'd ruin your dress in the inevitable scuffle with that Malfoy kid."_ _

__Harri felt her cheeks brighten even further in embarrassment; he'd witnessed that?_ _

__Guiding her into a gentle spin, the older Hufflepuff gave her a once over with chuckle. "It would have been a shame, too." He paused, another twinkling smile spreading across his face. "It's a very nice dress; you look very pretty."_ _

__She blushed again. Funny how all his comments seemed to have that effect. "Thanks…" she mumbled. "You look really nice, too…"_ _

__He grinned in thanks, gently placing his hands at her waist to lift her up in time with the music. Surprised by the movement – she hadn't been paying any attention to the music - Harri gripped his arms, letting out a startled laugh. After a few more rotations around the floor, Harri began to relax, allowing the older boy to lead her through the steps of the dance. Eventually the song reached its final crescendo; as it did so, Cedric released her, taking a step back with a gallant bow. Not to be out done, Harri also stepped back into what she hoped was a passable curtsy._ _

__As the song finished, Harri and Cedric applauded along with the others. In that moment, the brunette was certain that if asked, she would be able to perform the most powerful Patronus ever._ _


End file.
